Examining the role of social support in treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder

OBJECTIVE: Social support may be a critical mechanism in the treatment of co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, no studies have examined how social support changes as a function of treatment or predicts treatment outcome in a Veteran population with co-occurring SUD and PTSD. METHOD: The current study is a secondary analysis that examined social support over the course of treatment for co-occurring SUD and PTSD (N = 81). Analyses were conducted to examine if a) social support predicts change in substance use and PTSD symptoms, respectively, over the course of treatment and during follow-up, and b) substance use and PTSD symptoms, respectively, predicts change in social support over treatment and during follow-up. RESULTS: The findings revealed that between-person social support moderated decreases in substance use (B = −0.17, SE = 0.07, p = 0.017) and PTSD symptom severity (B = −0.12, SE = 0.05, p = 0.009) during treatment but not during follow-up. Within-person substance use and PTSD symptom severity predicted social support but substance use and PTSD symptoms did not moderate changes in social support during treatment or follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the critical role of social support during treatment in enhancing outcomes for individuals with co-occurring SUD and PTSD.